Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat 4
The fourth heat of Series 9 ' was first broadcast on March 19th 2017. It was the fourth of five heats to determine the finalists of Series 9 of ''Robot Wars. The original broadcast on BBC Two attracted 1.17 million in overnight viewers. Competing robots Newcomers Veterans Round 1 Frostbite vs HIGH-5 vs Supernova vs Wyrm Wyrm charged at and dodged HIGH-5 in the opening seconds, while Supernova and Frostbite hesitated as they got their spinning weapons up to speed. Wyrm bumped into and pushed HIGH-5 towards the middle of the arena, immobilising the latter, while Supernova hit Frostbite, destroying its left-hand armour and causing part of Frostbite's chassis to spear through its left-hand tyre. As Frostbite drove around the arena, Wyrm drove straight past the Arena Tyre into the wall, the impact dislodging both of its drive chains and immobilising it. Through the gyroscopic forces of its disc alone, Supernova drove into and hit HIGH-5's rear panel, while Shunt lifted Wyrm just as 'cease' was called. Qualified: '''Frostbite & Supernova Apex vs Crushtacean vs Ironside3 vs Pulsar Pulsar spun and drove through an empty CPZ in pursuit of Ironside 3, while Crushtacean spun round towards the Flame Pit and Apex slowly moved across to get its weapon spinning. Ironside3 hit Crushtacean from the side, sending it spinning onto the Flame Pit, where Crushtacean was left immobilised. With both Ironside3 and Apex keeping distance from each other, Pulsar drove itself onto the Floor Flipper before hitting Apex, sending Apex spinning violently into the air and immobilising it. Pulsar slammed head-on into Ironside3's bar, and waited by the Arena Tyre as Ironside3 spun around in victory. Both Pulsar and Ironside3 received considerable damage to their weapons, with the axle for Ironside3's bar having shifted and causing it to lean backwards, and one of the belts for Pulsar's drum seizing up. Qualified: Ironside3 & Pulsar Head-to-Heads Supernova vs Frostbite For this battle, the Frostbite team added a thicker 12mm polycarbonate panel to its back in an attempt to protect its internals from Supernova’s disc. As the battle started, Supernova spun around to get its disc spinning, while Frostbite turned round and drove towards an empty CPZ. In doing so, it was flipped by the Floor Flipper, and avoided Supernova as the latter waited nearby. Eventually, both robots' spinning weapons collided, with Supernova tearing off one of the blades and LED clusters of Frostbite's bar. Supernova then slammed into Frostbite's left-hand side, destroying the polycarbonate armour and leaving it immobilised on one side. Another hit from Supernova sent Frostbite spinning and tore its blade off, with Frostbite being left completely immobilised by the impact. However, the drive chain for Supernova's disc came loose, with Supernova destroying it before tearing Frostbite's back panel off. 'Cease' was called, with Shunt axing Frostbite not long afterwards. Unseen on the televised broadcast, Shunt proceeded to pull Frostbite's top panel off, before Sir Killalot picked Frostbite up and dropped it into the pit.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akbuzfBcw5k In the pits, the Frostbite team revealed that Supernova's attacks had tore through one of its drive motors, severely compromising its chances of continuing in the Head-to-Heads. Meanwhile, Team Supernova discovered that part of Supernova's disc chain was stuck inside the robot, and had come close to setting its batteries on fire. Winner: Supernova (3 points) Ironside3 vs Pulsar In a rematch of their Head-to-Head battle from Series 8, Pulsar immediately darted towards Ironside3 as the latter drove into Shunt's CPZ, with Ironside3 spinning uncontrollably onto the Floor Flipper and getting thrown into the air. Ironside3 landed upright, but was spun away after hitting the side of the flipper, and Pulsar slammed it into the Arena Tyre as it drove away. This caused the pit to descend, with Pulsar's drum smoking and compelling Ellis Ware to tell his team to stop it spinning. The two robots collided, with Ironside3 spinning into Sir Killalot's CPZ and momentarily getting trapped as Pulsar rammed into it again. Both robots escaped, with Pulsar again slamming into Ironside3 before pushing and chasing it around the arena. Ironside3 backed onto the Floor Flipper again, nearly getting flipped completely over this time, but again landed on its wheels. Pulsar and Ironside3 bumped and pushed each other around once more, with Pulsar almost driving itself into the pit in the process. Eventually, Pulsar pushed Ironside3 over the Flame Pit and drove itself into the wall, where it became immobilised on one side. After a few seconds had elapsed, this allowed Sir Killalot to pick Pulsar up and hold it over the Flame Pit. Sir Killalot released Pulsar, turning it onto its back, with Pulsar self-righting and getting hit by Ironside3's bar as it struggled to drive itself off the Flame Pit. The two robots momentarily avoided each other before Ironside3 hit Pulsar again, after which Pulsar spun its drum up again in an attempt to cause damage, only to lift itself onto one wheel and spin around the arena in doing so. Meanwhile, Ironside3 spun around and drove through an empty CPZ, with Team Outlaw noticing that due to a glitch on one of their screens in their control room, the immobilisation countdown for Pulsar had started. Despite the countdown having actually been stopped earlier due to Pulsar still being mobile on one side, Team Outlaw believed that Pulsar had been fully counted out, so Ironside3 spun around in victory and avoided Pulsar for the remainder of the battle. However, 'cease' was not called immediately, and the battle ultimately went to a Judges' decision. Unseen on the televised broadcast, Pulsar was originally awarded the Judges' decision and two points for their victory. However, upon discovering the countdown glitch, the Judges reversed their decision and decided to investigate the issue. They concluded that since Pulsar was still mobile, and Team Outlaw were directly affected by the glitch, awarding a decision based on these circumstances would have been unfair to both teams. As a result, the Judges awarded two points each to Pulsar and Ironside 3, with Noel Sharkey informing Team Outlaw of their decision in the pits. No winner declared (2 points to both robots) Supernova vs Pulsar Following its previous Head-to-Head, Team Ranglebots were forced to strip down, rebuild and replace Pulsar's speed controllers in the pits, with Ellis Ware admitting to the camera crew that he had been struggling to replace the damaged components. As the battle started, both robots turned away from each other in order to let their spinning weapons reach their maximum speeds. Seconds later, Pulsar and Supernova collided head-on, sending sparks flying and Supernova rolling and ricocheting violently into the wall. The collision momentarily stunned Pulsar and left Supernova with limited mobility as it slowly crawled across the arena wall. Pulsar sprung back into life seconds later, before repeatedly pinning and ramming Supernova against the wall, with Supernova being completely immobilised and counted out after these attacks. Pulsar celebrated its victory by raising its srimech several times as a 'salute', to the delight of Jonathan Pearce, the Judges and the audience. As a result of their head-on collision, both robots sustained severe damage which required extensive repairs in the pits. Team Ranglebots found Pulsar's drum to have seized and sustained gashes, while the force of the impact caused Supernova's weapon chain to shear its disc's motor off its mounting point, resulting in the rest of its internals getting jammed. Winner: Pulsar (3 points) Ironside3 vs Wyrm Following the extensive damage sustained in its first Head-to-Head, Frostbite withdrew before the battle began, with Wyrm reinstated after lasting longer than HIGH-5 in their Group Battle. Ironside3 drove away from Wyrm as the latter approached, with the two robots momentarily avoiding each other before Ironside3 ripped Wyrm’s 'spinner-killer' wedge off. Wyrm reversed into Shunt's CPZ, where it was axed and left vulnerable to a side-on slam from Ironside3, which ripped its left-hand panel loose. As Wyrm drove away, Ironside3 knocked this and its front-left wheel completely off, with Wyrm turning round over the closed pit and ramming side-on into Ironside3. Ironside3 immobilised Wyrm by hitting its side once again, sending parts of Wyrm's armour flying across the arena in the process, but got itself caught on the partially-lowered pit in doing so. It escaped as the pit raised itself back up, and ripped Wyrm's other left-hand wheel as the latter was being counted out. Afterwards, Fhiannan McIvor revealed that Sir Killalot had also removed one of Wyrm's right-hand wheels off, adding to the repairs required in the pits. Additionally, Sir Killalot held Wyrm aloft and dumped it into the pit, a moment which again was not televised. Through scoring three points, Ironside3 equalised Pulsar's score on the leaderboard, with both robots now joint-first with five points at this stage. Winner: Ironside3 (3 points) Pulsar vs Wyrm While converting Wyrm to two-wheel drive following the damage sustained against Ironside3, Memento Mori accidentally wired its drive system to run in reverse, with the robot driving backwards instead of forwards during testing. In order for the robot to drive properly, Nicholas White resorted to holding the robot's transmitter upside-down to simulate its correct control inputs. The team also added an 'OwO' emoticon and a bandage to Wyrm's wedge before entering it into the arena, again in response to their defeat against Ironside3. The two robots initially avoided each other in the opening seconds, with Wyrm driving straight into Dead Metal's CPZ and Pulsar's drum smoking copiously as it spun up in an attempt to attack it. Wyrm was attacked and released by Dead Metal, before Pulsar slid into the wall and pushed Wyrm's wedge underneath its wheels. This left Wyrm completely immobile as Dead Metal grabbed, pinned and sliced it, with Pulsar nudging Wyrm back into him as it was dragged onto the Flame Pit. Pulsar raised its srimech as Wyrm was pushed off the Flame Pit and left immobile, but lost power to all but one of its motors just as 'cease' was called. Needless to say, having scored three more points, it topped the leaderboard with eight points, and secured its place in the Heat Final as a result of this victory. Unseen on television, Matilda caused extensive damage to the back end of Wyrm after 'cease' had been called. Memento Mori finished their appearance by throwing Wyrm's remains into a skip. Winner: Pulsar (3 points) Ironside3 vs Supernova Before the battle began, Team Supernova expressed concerns that the repairs they made to Supernova's motors and bearings would not be sufficient, while Ironside3 was found to have a broken gearbox, requiring Team Outlaw to equip its final spare beforehand. As with their previous battles, both robots avoided each other in the opening seconds to get their weapons spinning, before hitting each other's sides. Sparks flew as Ironside3 spun onto the closed pit panel, and Supernova recoiled towards the centre of the arena. Supernova struggled to move away as Ironside3 hit it twice more in rapid succession, the attacks damaging its left-hand wheel and hampering its mobility. Another couple of hits from Ironside3 caused more sparks to fly and Supernova's wheel to lock up completely, with Supernova driving in circles over the arena spikes before suddenly stopping completely. Ironside3 hit Supernova's side again, sending sparks and shards of metal flying, before Shunt came out of his CPZ to axe Supernova, the latter's disc hitting his scoop and sending yet more sparks flying. Ironside3 slammed into Supernova one more time before it was fully counted out, while Sir Killalot ended the battle by holding Supernova over the Flame Pit. After having initially lead the Head-to-Head standings, this resulted in Supernova being eliminated from the competition along with Wyrm. Meanwhile, Ironside3 finished joint-first with Pulsar on eight points, progressing through to the Heat Final along with the latter. Winner: Ironside3 (3 points) Final Table NOTE: Frostbite withdrew on 0 points, and is not included in the final table. Heat Final Pulsar vs Ironside3 Before the battle began, it was discovered that the drive belt for Ironside3's spinning bar had turned around as a result of impacts from previous battles. Meanwhile, Pulsar encountered a fault with one of its drive motors during testing, and with Team Ranglebots having run out of spare components at this stage, Ellis Ware resorted to using the motor for its srimech to power its wheels. As 'Activate' was called, Pulsar moved slowly forward as Ironside3 slammed into it sideways, momentarily immobilising it on one side. Ironside3 waited as Pulsar regained full mobility, and dodged Pulsar as the latter attempted to line up an attack. Pulsar attempted to push Ironside3 from the side, but was deflected away after a second hit from Ironside3's bar, leaving it completely immobilised and vulnerable to another succession of hits from Ironside3. 'Cease' was called, and Ironside 3 was declared the winner, while Pulsar sustained more damage from Shunt and Sir Killalot. Heat Winner: Ironside3 Trivia *This heat marked the first instance where both robots in a Head-to-Head battle were awarded points following a Judges' decision. This occurred in the Head-to-Head between Ironside3 and Pulsar, as a result of an immobilisation countdown glitch. This uniquely resulted in two robots going undefeated in the Head-to-Heads. *Dutch crusher PacifieR was intended to compete in this heat, but had to withdraw due to a minor circuitry problem, and was replaced by Apex. *Pulsar and Ironside3 were featured in the same heat in both Series 8 and 9, and with five fights, now match Firestorm v Panic Attack, Tornado v Razer and Carbide v Apollo for the most recurring Robot Wars rivalry. *Supernova and Crushtacean were both featured in the Third World Championship, Heat H of the Fifth Wars and this heat. References Category:Series 9 Category:Episodes containing a Quick Immobilisation Category:Episodes in which two Robots fought Three times